Building construction



April 2, 1935. s. 5. KING 1,996,735

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 1', 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTORNE Y5.

April -2, I935.

s. 5. KING 1,996,735 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION v Filed Sept. 1, 1933 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I t 3/ I FAG-5 INVENTOR,

M i W A TTORNEYF.

April 2, 1935. 5, K 1,996,735

' BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 1, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ma-a I 25 25 25 I X 37 g 25 --L 7 35 y INVENTOR,

A TTORNE K5.

Patented Apr. 2,1935

UNITED: "STATES 11 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction of buildings and particularly to the construction of buildings to simulate log houses such as were built by the pioneers of our country with hewn s.

A, characteristic vfeature-pf the log houseiof the pioneer was the manner in which the logs were interlocked at the-corners of the house,

to prevent any given logslipping from beneath the log above it, and one of the. objects of my invention is toerect a house by. modern methods of frame house construction, using modern ma terials, especially lumber cut to modem shapes and sizes, and yet produce azhouse that resembles 5 a log house, having. corners with interlocked logs. Anotherobject is to produce such ahouse at a comparatively small cost, in fact,'at a cost hardly any greater'thanthe cost'of an ordinary frame house. A further object is tobuild a house such as I have described in; such a manner that the walls can be built in the factory and transported to the place of erection in sections.

I shall now explain my invention in detail, with the aid of the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of aportion ofa corner of a house embodying my invention V Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view ofa corner of a house built as in Fig. 1; r

Figs-3, 4 and 5 show, respectively, a plan, end elevation and side elevation of a unit embodying "a length of siding secured to a block made to simulate the projecting'end of a log'at the corner ofalog house; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectionalelevation ofa wall of my house showing the .method of simulating the chinking of the spaces between the logs of-alog house; I 1 a "Fig. 7 is a modification of the structure shown in Fig. .6;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of a comer section of a wall built accordingto my invention, this section being portable; and I Fig. 9 is a plan Fig. 8. y

Referringfirst to Fig; '2 it will be seen that the framework issubstantially that of an ordinary frame house. That iis,'itjincludes' vertical studsr25, horizontal storm sheathing 26, and plaster Z'I on the inside of the'walls. fLaths are not shown but it is to. be understood that the plaster islaid on laths-of some kind.' .My invention resides principally the covering for the framework described, andin describing this I shallfirst call attention to Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

,view of.the-,section shown-in 1 Figs. 3, 4: and 5 show a unit consistingof a.

length of siding, 30, to one end of'which is'securedablockof wood 3|, which block is preferablyabout twice the thickness of the siding. One of' these units is also shown in fulllines in Fig. 2, the lengthof siding 30i being; nailed to the sheathing '26, while the block 3| .is nailed to the sheathing around the:corner. In other 'words, the angleformed by the siding 30' and block 3! embraces the corner of the building. Below. this unit shown partly in dotted lines,

PATENT? OFFICE. i

is a similarunit, but thetwo units are enantioe morphous to. each other, commonly called. right andleft hand. The effect of applying these rightand left hand units, alternately, is seen in Fig. l. The upper edge of eachblockis shaped like an invertedlsquatty letter V, and each length of weatherboard has a large veshaped notch 32 inits lower edge, which allows the board-to saddle itself on the block below itx-As bothrthe block and :the inner surface of ;-the weatherr board lie against the sheathing, the; excess thick.-

ness of the block projects beyond the j outer;sur-. face of the weatherboard, with the resultthat:

. the projecting blocks,v together with'the; notched boards saddled on the V,.shaped upper edges of the blocks, produce an effect resembling-,theiinterlocked ends of the logs atthe corner of a log house. 1

Itwill be noted that the board 30, and block, 3| are joined by a miteredjoint. j Ihisis done to conceal the, joint. The outer surface of the board 38 is mutilated to simulate the surface of a'hewn log. This may be carried farther by hacking'the edges of the board to make them somewhat irreg- .ular, sothey look as though they were-part of the upper and lower surfaces of hewn logs; Itis pref erable, though' not necessary,jto cut theblocks from the .end of a log, so as toexpose lthe;end

,grain, as would beflthe case in a real 'log'housel This, however, mayv verygwell be'dispensed with,

ference. if the blocks were cutfrom boards of the required thickness.

The attention of the observ-' T I or is engaged by the general efiect.- The shape 'of the blocks, the fact that the blocks project beyond the surface of the siding boardsJarid the saddling of the siding boards on the V-shaped tops of the blocks, all contribute toproduce ageneral effect or ensemble, so suggestive of the corner of a'log' house as to cause the casual observerto overlook details. The principal usefor such a building as I have described is as a cabin ina summer camp, orin places more or less analogous thereto. Of course, it." is notintended to 'nor 7 could it deceive anyone to his disadvantage or injury.. In fact it smacks of artistry rather than deception. While the ensemble I have. described closely resemblesa house built of hewn logs, no one examining it with reasonable care could fail to discover that it is merely 'a frame house built to simulate a log house.- Yet it performs a useful result inthat it produces an artistic' cabin at less than half the cost at which 'a genuine log cabin could be built. Furthermore, it is just as durable and habitable as an ordinary frame house.

InFig. 3 I have'illustrated a block a board nailed together, and have referred ito them' 'as-a described it is unnecessary to further describe unit. It is not to be understood, however, that that is'necessarily the way in which these parts are applied to 'the wall. If desired the block, or' the board, maybe nailedto the wall separately, and the other member of the 'unit nailed to the wall afterward. 1 Therefore, whenin the claims I refer to the blocks being secured to the siding boardsit'does not necessarily mean that they are nailed together or otherwise directly secured T to 'eachotherf 'It can just as'w'ell mean that each nailed to the house, which case theyare s'e cured togetherjbut indirectly. Afboardand a block becomesa unit in the sense that together they simulate alog, one simulating the endof the'log' and the otherithe side. 1 V Tostill further carry outthe'simulation of a log house the"'siding boar'ds scare made "narrow enough-to leave'substantial spaces or chinks between their edges, which chinks are pointed up or chinked with suitable plastic material. ;To securel' the'lichinkirig 33, in the spaces or' chinks? 'I prefer to use metal lath, .34 (see Fig. 6) ,strips ofwhich are secured to the sheathingat suitable points beforethe siding is put in place. The cost. of the house can be somewhat reduced byofnitting the stornf sheathing 26. In such 'caseI may-nail furring strips 3 5 to the studs 25, as

' in Fig.7, some of which stripsfare placed in theproperfposition to receive the metal lath 34. But eve'n'the furring strips may beomitted'an'd' the siding nailed directly to the studs. In such case then'ietalla'th can 'alsobenailed'to the studs with a short hail of stapler driven through'the lath into the sidinglfrom the inside. These being details which any builder would understand it is not necessary toillustrate them.

Anether feature of my invention is vthat of building the walls in portable sections or-units.

"I'hes e can be built in the factory and transported to the" place'where fthe'house is. to be erected. Door framescan be put in door section s, window frames in window sections, and doors andwindow sashescan even be fitted in their respective sections, in the factory. One advantage of this method of construction is that ordinary carpenters can set the sections in'place and complete the building, andfwhere the building is to be erected at a distance from the factory loeal carpenters v can beused, thereby saving the expenseof sending expertsfromthe factory. The advantages thusderivedrelate principally to thelcorner sec- .tions of'the building. I do not-mean to imply thatthese houses cannotbeerected by others 'thanexperts from the factory, but it is undoubtedly truethat the men the factory who specialize in this work 'can build up corners of superior quality andappearanoe in much less time, and henceat lowericost, than can the average house building carpenterQWorking from drawings or 1 In Fig-8'1 showan elevation of a corner sec- 7 'tion," and in Fig. 9 aplan view Qi this corner.

The principal characteristic of the framework of this section is that it is portable and sufliciently braced to avoid distortion in transit, as distortion might dislocate or otherwise injure some of the siding or blocks. Referring to Fig. 9 it will be seen that the framework comprises studs 25 and weathersheathing 26, the same as Fig. 2. Lath and-plaster are omitted,-to. beapplied after the building has been erected. At the corner the sheathing of both walls is nailed to the stud 36, andthus the two walls that unite to form the corner are firmly united. The weather boards and blocks being applied in the manner already this part of; thest'ructure; At 3'! I secure a temporary brace, and at the bottom of the structure I secure a similar temporary brace, not seen, both of which will be removed when they are no longer needed. Of course, other methods of bracing the.

of a contiguous unit, which may be a window unit, 'a door or a plainwall unit. These contiguous studs maybe nailed or otherwise securedtogether. In'Figyaafragment of a window unit adjoins the corner unit-but the siding is omitted-from this fragment. Inthis figure it will be noticed that the siding boards on the .corner'section are arranged with broken joints,

and the ends of the siding are. beveled. These 'expedients areadoptedtomake the joints less noticeable; Preferably the siding is left off of all *units'save corners, which permits the remainder of the siding to be applied at the place of erection; to theend that'long lengths may be" used, wherethe openings permit. 7

While I have shown and explained what I at this time regard as the best manner in which to construct myinvention, I do not wish to limit the scope of the invention to the particular details shown,a's the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

-1. In 'a 'wall construction, a length of siding,

to one end of which a block is secured to extend perpendicularly to said siding, which block is made to simulate the projecting endof a log at the 'corner'of' a log house, said siding being made to simulate the outside'of thelog of which the blockjsimulates' the end,"the juncture, of said siding and" block being mitered, thereby preventing the exposed surface of'either turning the corner. I '2. .A corner of a frame house, comprising a framework adapted to carry the siding of the house, a series of units secured alternately to the outside of 'one'and then the other of the walls that unite to form said corner, each unit consis'ting of a length'of siding, to one end of which a blooki s secured to extend perpendicularly to said siding, so when'thesi'ding' 'lie's against one wall the block' will lie against the other wall,

the block being madefto simulate the interlocked end of a log. at the corner 'of a log house, the siding being made to simulate the outside of the log of which the block simulates the end. 3; A cornerof a frame house, comprising a framework adapted to. carry the siding'of the;

'house, a series of'lengthsof siding alternately one on the otherwall, each length having secured to oneend a block, whichwhen thelength of siding lies against one wall lies against the other wall, thereby embracing the corner of the framework, said block being made to simulate the end of aninterlockinglog at the corner of a log house, the upper edge of the block having the form of an inverted letter V, the length of siding being made to simulate the outside of thelog of which the block simulates the end, the lower edge of the siding being notched near its block, enabling it to saddle itself on the V-shape top of the block below it. I V

4. A corner of a frame house, comprising a framework adapted to carry the siding of the house, a series of lengths of siding alternately secured to the walls that unite to formsaid corner, each at a higher level than the preceding one on the other wall, each length having secured to one end a block, which when the length of siding lies against one wall lies against the other wall, thereby embracing the corner of the framework, said block being made to simulatethe end of an interlocking log at the corner of a log house, the upper edge of 'the block having the form of an inverted letter V, the length of siding being made to simulate the outside of the log of which the block simulates the end, the' lower edge of the siding being notched nearv the block, enabling it to saddle itself on the V'-shape top of the block below it, said blocks being thicker than the siding, causing the blocks to extend beyond the siding to simulate the projecting endsof the interlocking logs at the corner of a log house. r

5. A corner of a frame house, comprising a framework adapted to carry the siding of the house, a series of lengths of siding alternately corner, each at a higher level than the preceding one on'the other wall, each'length having secured to one end a block, which when the length of siding lies against one wall lies against the other wall, thereby embracing the corner of the framework, said block having the shape of the projecting end of a log in the corner of a'log house, including the upper edge having the form of an inverted letter V, each length of siding having a V-shape notch in its lower edge enabling it to saddle itself on the block below it, simulating the interlocking of the logs at the corner of a log house. Y

6. A corner of a frame house, comprising a framework adapted to carry the siding, a series of units secured alternately to one and then the,

other of the walls that unite to form said corner, each unitconsisting of a length of sidingtoone end of which a block is securedto extend perpendicularly to said siding, so when the siding lies against one wall the block will lie against the other wall, the block being made to simulate the protruding end of a log at the corner of a log house, the siding being made to simulate 'the outside of the log ofwhich the block simulates the end, spaces between the edges of contiguous lengths of siding being filled with plastic material in a manner to simulate the chinking of a log house.

7. A corner of a frame house, comprising av framework adapted to carry the siding, a series of units secured alternately to one and thenthe other of the walls, that unite to form said corner, each unit consisting of a length of siding to one end ofwhich a block is secured to extend perpendicularly to saidsiding, so when the siding lies against onewall the block will lie against the other wall, the block being made to simulate the protruding end of a log at the corner of-a log house, the siding being made 'to simulate the outside of the log of which theblock simulates} the end, the edges of the lengths of siding being made irregular to simulate corners of hewn.logs,'

spaces between the edges of contiguous lengths of siding being filled with 'plastic materialin' a way to simulate the chinking of a log house. 8. A corner of a frame house, comprising a framework adapted to carry the siding of the house, a series of units secured alternately to the outside of one an'dthen the other 0f .the walls that unite to form said corner, each unit consisting of a length of siding, to one end of which a block is secured to extend perpendicular- 1y to said siding, so when the siding lies against one wall the block will lie against the other wall,

the block being made to simulate the interlocked end of 'a log at, the corner of ia lo-g house, the

siding being made to simulate the outside of p the log of which the block simulates the end, spaces'between the edges of contiguous lengths of siding being filled with plastic material to simulate the chinking of a log house, said plastic I material being secured with strips of 'metal lath applied to the framework in proper places.

9. A corner of a frame house, comprising-a portable framework, braced to prevent its being to the outside of. one and then the other of the walls that unite to form said corner, each unit consisting of a length of siding, to one end of which a block is united to extend perpendicularly thereto, so when the siding lies against one wall the block lies against the other wall, the

- one wall the block can lieagainst the other wall,

the blocks and ends of siding being made to-.

gether to simulate the interlocked ends ofthe,

logs at the corner of a log'house.

11. In a'corner of ahouse, a seriesof units, each distorted, a series of units secured alternately secured to the walls that' unite to form said unit at a higher lever than its predecessor, each unit comprising a length of siding, to one end of which a block is secured to extend perpendicularly thereto, so when the siding. lies against one wally the block can lie against the other wall, successive unitsbeing enantiomorphous to its predecessor, the upper edge of each block having the form of an inverted V, the lower edge of each length of siding being notched near the block to which it is secured, enabling it to saddle itself on the V-shape top of theblook below it.

SIDNEY: s. KING. 

